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Hi friends! So today I have another not really new, new release to share. I picked these polishes up last month because well FOMO is real and there was so much hype around one of these polishes, I couldn’t help myself.
According to Orly, these are supposed to be 1 step nail polish. So technically you don’t need to pair them with base or top coats. Because I am obviously such a rebel (sarcasm), I did use both base and top coat for all of my swatches.
This was my first time purchasing from the Orly Breathable line. Other than a freebie bottle from a previous Color Pass box, I didn’t know much about the line. For the sake of time, I’ll save all of my thoughts (and ponderings) to the end of the blog post.
These polishes are all available right now in all of the places Orly is sold. As always, I will have links and coupon codes at the end of the post.
Live Swatch Video
P.S the video is up currently for my channel members. It will go public Saturday, January 28th at 3PM Eastern time. If you would like to join the channel memberships, click here.
Orly is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in massive 18ml bottles, 12 free, cruelty free and vegan friendly.
Cran-barely Believe It
Description: a candy apple red shimmer
Cran-barely Believe It had a fantastic formula. There was so much hype around this polish that I was actually most excited about this one from the whole collection! I know, Nicole excited about a RED metallic polish? Unheard of!
All that said, I can see why people love this color so much. It’s a beautiful juicy red shade. And with that said, the hype train got me and I was actually a little disappointed by this one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s gorgeous. I just thought I was going to be blown away and I wasn’t so bummer.
You do have some very minimal brush strokes with this polish but they aren’t too bad in my opinion. They are the kind where you have to look for brush strokes in order to see them.
My photos show Cran-barely Believe It in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Removal will be very easy and I didn’t have any issues with staining.
Faux Fir
Description: dark olive green shimmer
Faux Fir had a wonderful formula. I wasn’t too sure about this color, to be honest. I feel like dark olive/army greens are my least favorite out of all of the green shades so this polish was kinda meh for me.
The coverage was surprisingly great, I only needed 2 coats to reach full opacity. The shimmer has an almost goldish green tone to it. It’s not color shifty, but there were a few moments where I thought it was.
You do get some brush strokes through the metallic shimmer but like the previous polish, you do have to look for the brush strokes to see them in person. They aren’t super obvious or in my opinion distracting.
My photos show Faux Fir in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
I’ll Misty You
Description: a deep purple shimmer
I’ll Misty You had a great formula. It started off a lot sheerer than the other polishes in the release. It’s likely to be a 2-3 coater depending on your application and personal preference.
Colorwise, this was another not for me one. It’s a dark warm purple but the shimmer does look nice paired with the base. The shimmer is slightly more sparkly than the other shimmers so you don’t really get the brush stroke issue.
My photos show I’ll Misty You in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Light My (Camp)Fire
Description: a bright copper shimmer
Light My (Camp)Fire had an amazing formula. It was practically a one coat wonder for me. I did not expect at all to like this polish as much as I ended up doing.
The base color is a metallic slightly darker than normal pumpkin orange shade. It had a brassy note to it. I did get some brush strokes through the shimmer but they were easy for me to ignore.
My photos show Light Me (Camp)Fire in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Lost In A Maize
Description: a warm gold chrome shimmer
Lost In A Maize had a fantastic formula. It applied wonderfully but it does show a lot of brush strokes. Coverage however was fantastic.
After how much I loved gold metallics the past few months, I thought this polish was going to really knock my socks off. Was it a beautiful polish? Yes. Were my socks knocked off? Sadly, no they were not.
My photos show show Lost In A Maize in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
To compare it to OPI’s Sleigh Bells Bling, this one is warmer in tone and showed more brush strokes. They aren’t dupes and I am not the person to tell you if you need both.
Oh My Stars
Description: a deep charcoal black shimmer
Oh My Stars had a fantastic formula. It was very opaque, I can see this being opaque in one coat on someone with shorter nails than me. I did need to add a second coat to reach full opacity.
If I hadn’t read the official description to see that this polish was black. I think I would have said it was an incredibly dark purple that will appear black in most lighting. It has a very cool purple tone to it, presumably from the shimmer. The base is so dark, that you really have to search for the brush strokes to see them.
I wasn’t really a fan of this one either. It’s just too dark for me personally but I can see why someone else would like it. I feel like this would be neat base for some night sky nail art.
My photos show Oh My Stars in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Final Thoughts
As far as the collection goes, I thought it was great. I can see why it has been so popular with people. The color story was very fall/winter appropriate and I liked that I could kinda make a rainbow out of my swatches.
My top pick is without a doubt, Light My (Camp)Fire.
As far as the breathable line goes, I am genuinely confused about it. According to this blog post by Orly, the line was made for people with natural nails who experience getting brittle nails and the polish somehow permits air/moisture to travel between the natural nail bed and the polish.
My own personal experience with wearing polish and having natural nails is kind of the opposite. I always found that by keeping polish on my nails and moisturizing them with oil, my nails got longer and were healthier. I totally get the whole my experience isn’t going to be everyone’s experience but I just feel like the whole “breathable” thing just adds to the idea that our nails need to breathe.
Just based on some quick Google-ing I do think this line would be great for people of certain religions where wearing nail polish isn’t allowed. So I like this for that aspect but I don’t really vibe with the whole marketing aspect.
All that said, if you are like me and just like painting your nails at home, these will perform the same way as regular nail polish.
Orly
18ml, 12 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The In The Spirit collection is available right now. Each bottle is priced at $11 for an 18ml bottle. Currently I am seeing it on Orly’s website, Amazon and Beyond Polish. If you would like to pick up the collection at a discount, do use my affiliate code NicoleLovesNails to save 10% on the Beyond Polish website.
I don’t see the collection up on Ulta’s website but Ulta does also sell other polishes from the Breathable line.
